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| Vinexpo Hong Kong – 20th Anniversary |
| By Rajiv Singhal |
| Founded in 1981, Vinexpo is the world’s leading show for wine and spirits professionals and a partner for the wine and spirits industry worldwide. Vinexpo organises shows in Bordeaux (in odd-numbered years), Hong Kong (in even-numbered years), Tokyo and recently New York. vino india spoke to Guillaume Deglise, who was appointed CEO of Vinexpo in 2013 with a declared ambition to give Vinexpo a fresh impetus, for insights into Vinexpo Hong Kong.
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Guillaume Deglise, CEO, Vinexpo |
| How do you describe Vinexpo Hong Kong 2018? What will be the highlights? |
| Vinexpo Hong Kong celebrates its 20th anniversary in 2018. Business in Asia has never been so dynamic for the wine and spirits industry, and Vinexpo Hong Kong will be the main rendezvous in the region for all business leaders – growers, traders and importers. Australia will be this year’s Country of Honour and will bring more than 150 producers to Hong Kong. A series of masterclasses, tastings and conferences will showcase this great producing country whose diversity visitors can discover besides the usual grand tastings of Bordeaux, Burgundy, Italy…. About 18,000 trade visitors and more than 70 new exhibitors should join the show. |
| How has Vinexpo Hong Kong evolved since 2014? Are there any changes in your approach? |
| Vinexpo Hong Kong keeps on growing slowly but surely. The number of countries represented more than doubled, rising from 25 (2014) to 51 (2016). We are conscious that we don’t expand too quickly as we need to balance the number of exhibitors and visitors. While the trend clearly shows that China leads number of visitors, we now host buyers from almost everywhere in the Asia-Pacific and beyond – from America to the Middle East and from Europe to India – the show is not strictly Asia. Our approach to this year’s show is very Asia driven. We celebrate 20 years of presence in Hong Kong – Vinexpo was the first foreign brand to believe in the growth in Asia – and we want to pay tribute to all professionals who made this continental market the most dynamic in the world. |
| As a leader in its space, how does Vinexpo stave off competition? |
| We keep an eye on our competition, but it is most important that we remain loyal to Vinexpo’s DNA – customer-driven, good service and the ‘French’ touch (which clearly doesn’t mean we support the French industry more than any other, as demonstrated by the Country of Honour concept). At our shows, we promote the entire industry and report on trends together with IWSR. |
| What have been the biggest challenges that you have faced? |
| Vinexpo Hong Kong has three major assets: the location, Hong Kong, which is very attractive; the venue, HKCEC, which is one of the world’s best exhibition centres, and the market which is growing. When you mix these three elements, all other challenges get easier! |
| Between exhibitors and visitors, whom does Vinexpo focus on more? |
| Our revenues mostly come from the exhibitors, so we need them to be satisfied with the quality of buyers. This is why we do everything possible to attract the most relevant buyers of the region and beyond. Our job is to make sure that both parties – exhibitors and visitors – can easily meet. |
| Will specialised trade fairs need to adapt in the new world order? |
| Our revenues mostly come from the exhibitors, so we need them to be satisfied with the quality of buyers. This is why we do everything possible to attract the most relevant buyers of the region and beyond. Our job is to make sure that both parties – exhibitors and visitors – can easily meet. |
| Does the importance of China tempt you to set up a show in the mainland? |
| We obviously could, but our priority is to maintain Vinexpo Hong Kong as the most attractive BtoB event in Asia-Pacific. We have just concluded a very successful first edition of Vinexpo New York in the world’s biggest but very challenging market for wine. China may be the fastest growing market in the world nowadays, but we really doubt that this destination would attract foreign buyers, as Hong Kong does. But everything’s possible and we know the recipe! |
| A group company of vino india holds the contract for communication in India for Vinexpo since 2013. |
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